Swiss firm moves HC against blacklisting by govt

Justice Rajiv Shakdher has issued notice to the Defence Ministry and sought its reply by November 6 on RAD's plea against the government's decision in March this year.

RAD, a leading manufacturer of the state-of-the-art anticraft systems, is one of the six firms, which has been blacklisted by the Union government in the wake of allegations that they had bribed a Director General of Ordnance Factories Board (OFB).

These firms have been barred from dealing with OFB and other Indian defence companies. They have also been "blacklisted" for 10 years from participating in any Indian defence contract.

In its petition in the high court, RAD has claimed that the charges against it are baseless and without merit.

"The allegations which led to RAD's blacklisting are false and that RAD and its employees acted in full compliance with the law," said the firm in a statement.

It added that "RAD remains committed to a close dailogue with Indian authorities and is ready to co-operate with them in order to clear its name with regard to the balcklisting."

"As a matter of principle, RAD binds itself and its employees to strict compliance standards. The company enjoys an excellent track record in meeting these standards where it operates," the firm said.

The CBI had arrested Indian businessman Abhishek Verma and his Romanian wife Anca Neascu on June 9 this year for allegedly receiving USD 5,30,000 from Rheinmetall Air Defence AG (RAD) for using their influence to stall its blacklisting by the government here.